One of the best ways to wake up refreshed, and ready for the day, is to get seven to nine hours of sleep each night. For many people, getting an adequate amount of restful sleep seems impossible. In fact, one in three Americans are not getting enough sleep. Sleep plays an important role in our physical and mental health and wellbeing – it not only affects how our body functions but also how we feel. During sleep, our body repairs damaged tissue, builds up energy reserves, re-balances fluids, and renews many of our body’s systems and functions. If you are having trouble getting the quality and quantity of sleep you want, here are a few things you can try:
Create a Healthy Sleep Environment
Having the right sleep environment can make a big difference for people. It includes things like having a dark room, a slightly cooler temperature, optimal noise level (quiet or ambient sound), no distracting devices or clutter, and comfortable pillows, sheets, and mattress. Do a room audit to see if there is anything that could improve your sleep environment.
Manage Technology
Although you might not realize it, technology may be robbing you of sleep in a variety of ways such as: keeping you up too late at night scrolling social media, disrupting your sleep with notifications, blocking the production of melatonin (a hormone necessary for quality sleep) by getting too much blue light in the evening, or decreasing your ability to feel rested because of electromagnetic waves being emitted from a bedroom router. The simple solution is making boundaries and managing your technology. This can be as simple as not engaging in technology two hours before bed, turning off your phone at night or putting it in another room, and moving your router to another room or turning it off at night.
Establish a Regular Sleep Schedule
If you go to bed and wake up at a different time each day, you may be confusing your body’s internal clock or circadian rhythm. You can change this by establishing a regular sleep schedule (including weekends). Some things you can do if your schedule is out of whack, are getting at least 30 minutes of natural sunlight each day (especially in the morning), diming the lights an hour or so before bedtime, and adjusting your sleep schedule by 15 minutes, every few days, until you have it where you want.
Create a Relaxing Bedtime Routine
It is helpful to do something before bedtime that calms you down and prepares your body and mind for sleep. This could include deep breathing, listening to soothing music, doing some gentle stretches, meditating, going on a peaceful walk, taking a warm bath or shower, reading a book, or clearing your mind by writing down your worries and tasks and setting them aside. The goal is to find practices that are relaxing for you.
Eliminate Sleep Sabotaging Behaviors
Some seemingly unrelated behaviors may be negatively impacting your quality of sleep at night. Here are a few examples: exercising later in the evening, drinking caffeinated soda within 6 hours of bedtime, letting pets or children sleep with you, eating too late at night (especially fatty, spicy, or junk foods), napping more than 30 minutes during the day, using your bedroom for work, worry, or watching TV, doing shift work, urinating frequently during the night, pain, medication, stress, and more. Taking time to improve these behaviors may simultaneously improve your sleep.
Resolve Any Sleep Disorders
There are more than 70 different sleep disorders that could affect your quality or quantity of sleep. Some of the most common disorders are insomnia, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, narcolepsy, and parasomnias (such as sleep walking, sleep paralysis, unmanaged depression or anxiety, and night terrors). Some symptoms of these disorders may improve by sleeping on your side instead of your back, elevating your head, losing weight, or managing stress. If you have been unsuccessful resolving your sleep issues with the above strategies, you might want to seek professional help.
Start doing something today to help improve your quantity and quality of sleep, so you can wake up each morning feeling refreshed and ready for the day.